Pentagon invites hackers to come give it a try

Hacking the Pentagon is a commonly seen feat in action movies, but among actual, real-life hackers who don't want to end in jail, it's known as something you just don't do. 

That changes today, with a new initiative from the U.S. Defense Department that will ask "vetted" security experts to test the cybersecurity of the Pentagon, Reuters reported Wednesday.

The initiative, led by the Pentagon's Defense Digital Service (DDS) and called "Hack the Pentagon," will be similar to other "bug bounty" contests, often designed by large companies in order to have their security tested. Google, for example, has offered a bounty for anyone who can hack its Chrome browser at the annual Pwn2Own hacking contest for years. 

Pentagon expects thousands of qualified participants to join the initiative. The U.S. military has its own internal teams performing security checks, but having more brains working on a problem is probably a good thing. 

Not all the details of the contest are known at this point, but it could include monetary awards. Only U.S. citizens who are willing to submit to a background check will be able to participate. And not all of Pentagon's systems will be included -- very sensitive networks or key weapons programs will not be part of the contest, at least in its initial phase. 

"I am confident that this innovative initiative will strengthen our digital defenses and ultimately enhance our national security," Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement unveiling the pilot program.

The new program comes just one day after Pentagon announced it would be using cyberattacks as part of its fight against terrorism. According to Carter, such attacks will be used against Islamic State (ISIS), in order to disrupt the group's "command and control, to cause them to lose confidence in their networks, to overload their network so that they can’t function."

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